Montana earthquakes

M1.9 earthquake 11 km WSW of Townsend, MT

A magnitude 1.9 earthquake struck 11 km WSW of Townsend, MT on Sat, Dec 16, 2017, 10:43 PM MST (05:43 UTC), 6 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.9 18 km SSW of Whitehall, Montana. This one was a foreshock.

Townsend forecastMore in Montana

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.9 (Md, duration), micro
Magnitude from
Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology
Local time
UTC
2017-12-17 05:43:52 UTC
Depth
5.7 km (3.6 mi), shallow
Epicenter
46.346° N, 111.389° W
Region
Montana
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty
About 0.5 km horizontally, 0.6 km in depth
Magnitude uncertainty
±0.14
Depth from
From location
Station coverage gap
102°
Stations used
23

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 9 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.918 km SSW of Whitehall, Montana · 3211 days ago · 5 km deep · 93 km away
  2. 2.46 km WSW of Elliston, Montana · 3209 days ago · 16 km deep · 88 km away
  3. 2.417 km SSW of Whitehall, Montana · 3204 days ago · 5 km deep · 92 km away
  4. 2.316 km S of Whitehall, Montana · 3200 days ago · 4 km deep · 90 km away · felt by 1
  5. 1.618 km NNE of Avon, Montana · 3195 days ago · 11 km deep · 100 km away
  6. 2.613 km S of Whitehall, Montana · 3176 days ago · 5 km deep · 87 km away · felt by 2
  7. 2.016 km S of Neihart, Montana · 3171 days ago · 4 km deep · 72 km away
  8. 1.816 km WNW of Marysville, Montana · 3170 days ago · 15 km deep · 100 km away
  9. 1.98 km S of Toston, Montana · 3164 days ago · 2 km deep · 28 km away
  10. 1.728 km ENE of Helena Valley Northeast, Montana · 3155 days ago · 2 km deep · 55 km away

Before

  1. 2.117 km S of Whitehall, Montana · 3216 days ago · 2 km deep · 90 km away
  2. 1.716 km S of Whitehall, Montana · 3216 days ago · 4 km deep · 89 km away
  3. 2.16 km WSW of Elliston, Montana · 3217 days ago · 18 km deep · 88 km away
  4. 2.27 km NNW of Toston, Montana · 3219 days ago · 6 km deep · 15 km away
  5. 1.612 km NNE of Toston, Montana · 3222 days ago · 5 km deep · 8 km away
  6. 3.29 km SW of Elliston, Montana · 3222 days ago · 20 km deep · 89 km away · felt by 7
  7. 2.614 km S of Whitehall, Montana · 3223 days ago · 12 km deep · 87 km away
  8. 1.510 km ENE of Marysville, Montana · 3225 days ago · 7 km deep · 79 km away
  9. 1.810 km SSE of Harrison, Montana · 3238 days ago · 3 km deep · 87 km away

Earthquakes todayMontana earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event mb80274504. Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 12:18 PM UTC.